Hello,
The Naperville crash was a turning point in U.S. passenger train history as it led the Interstate Commerce Commission to limit speeds of trains to 79 mph on lines that did not have in-cab signals or some other form of positive train control. Due to ICC orders dating back to the 1920s, most railroads had such signals installed on one or two districts, but no more.
Railroads that had faster trains on routes that did not have positive train control were forced to choose between making expensive signal installations or slowing those trains. Only 13,000 miles or 7 percent of U.S. rail lines at the time had such signals installed. Railroads were running faster trains on another 27,000 miles, and installing the signal systems on all 27,000 miles would have cost more than $100 million (about $1 billion in today's dollars). With passenger ridership rapidly declining, the incentive to make such an investment was low.
To compete with the Milwaukee and North Western on the Chicago-Twin Cities route, Burlington installed such signals on part of its route between Chicago and the Twin Cities. But Burlington and UP both decided to add 30 minutes to their Chicago-Denver trains rather than install the signals. Santa Fe installed signals so it could keep the Super Chief and El Capitan on 39-3/4 hour schedules, but Southern Pacific scrapped its plan to turn the Golden State into a 39-3/4-hour train rather than spend the money to install such signals.
The sad thing is that if the signals had been installed on the Burlington, they would not have prevented the Naperville crash. It is pretty clear from the ICC report that William Blaine, the engineer of the Expo Flyer, was at fault for the crash. He saw the yellow signal that told him to slow down. Instead of braking, he simply eased off on the throttle, figuring he was just a little closer to the Advance Flyer than the three minutes that was scheduled. This was called "riding the yellow" and though it didn't follow the rules it was a common practice.
Blaine's fireman died in the crash. Blaine himself behaved peculiarly after the crash. He had a head injury and after being bandaged he hitched a ride back to Aurora saying he had to catch a train. At Aurora, he was recognized and hospitalized. In the hospital, he told someone that when he saw a red signal he applied the brakes to stop the train. However, when the railroad examined his locomotive, it found that only the train brakes, not the locomotive brakes, had been applied. Tests showed that if Blaine at applied both brakes, the train would have safely stopped. Closer examination revealed a defective brake hose on one of the cars, though investigators could not be sure that the defective hose caused the accident.
Four different accident investigations took place, the coroner's report urged that Blaine be charged with manslaughter, and a local DA vowed to prosecute him. Yet Blaine was never formally interviewed after the accident other than the hospital statement. He retired immediately and reading between the lines I suspect he must have suffered a permanent brain injury.
In any case, it seems clear that he saw the yellow signal and made the wrong response or that a defect led the locomotive brakes to fail. Having an in-cab signal would not have helped. But because of that, any progress towards higher-speed trains in America was cut off by the new ICC rule.
Randal O'Toole